Opening (5 minutes), Workshop 3: Keenly Observing Nature, in the Exploring Our Values Through Poetry Program
Materials for Activity
- Chalice and matches
Description of Activity
Use the Opening designed by your group or the one provided below.
Gather around the chalice. As a volunteer lights the chalice, ask the group to focus on the word "nature" in silence. After about fifteen seconds invite participants to speak freely into the space a word or two that they associate with the word "nature." When everyone who wishes to speak has had a chance to do so, close by saying, "May the space we create here today be wide enough to hold all our individual ideas and deep enough to allow those ideas to grow, to fruit, and to provide seeds for new beginnings."
Introduce today's workshop by saying,
Simplicity and miracles: they coexist regularly and profoundly in the natural world. Yet how often do we rush past what is beautiful in order to get where we are going? Poetry has a long tradition of looking to nature for solace, inspiration, and perspective. This workshop encourages us to make joyous connections between ourselves and the natural world, to recognize the inherent wonder that all creatures, including ourselves, can inspire, and to slow down enough to notice.
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Last updated on Thursday, October 27, 2011.
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